Latest update [8th October]: “Tesla Motors had regained most of the value it lost in the wake of the accident” after Jefferies analyst Elaine Kwei boosted her price target on the company’s stock to $210 after visiting Tesla and test driving a Model S.

Key points:

Tesla shares fall 6% 24 hours after the news broke

Drop is shares may also have been caused by an analyst downgrade

Incident report suggested the fire was started in the battery

Driver is said to have hit a large piece of metal debris that caused the crash

firefighters said to have struggled to contain the flames

[8th October]Tesla’s stock value recovers almost to the pre-fire value

Statement from Tesla:

“The vehicle performed as it was designed to do…

…On Tuesday, a Model S collided with a large metallic object in the middle of the road, causing significant damage to the vehicle, the car’s alert system signalled a problem and instructed the driver to pull over safely, which he did. No one was injured, and the sole occupant had sufficient time to exit the vehicle safely and call the authorities.

The fire occurred after one of the 12 batteries used to power the vehicle was ruptured, and ignited. Each of (more…)